Canadians uncomfortable with the idea of consuming cannabis with their families

Dad might have no problem making sure everyone has a cold beer in their hand at the family picnic this summer, but grandma might be a bit more hesitant to bring her special brownies to the party once cannabis is legalized.

A new poll published by Nanos Research for the Business of Cannabis online news site shows while 62 per cent of Canadians are comfortable consuming alcohol with their family, they’re not quite at ease with consuming cannabis products in the same situation. Only 14 per cent said they’d be comfortable with the idea.

“I would argue that mentality is because most Canadians don’t necessarily understand the product variation [in cannabis] that exists today,” said Jay Rosenthal, co-founder and president of Business of Cannabis.

“It is totally normalized to have a drink with your family whether it’s wine or beer or scotch. We wanted to test that same question related to cannabis because if that’s the market size, that’s important to the industry to know.”

Rosenthal said while a majority of those surveyed either somewhat or fully supported the legalization of marijuana, understanding the social acceptability of weed will be an important ongoing metric to watch so that retailers can best educate customers on the range of products — and make it known smoking it isn’t the only option.

“I think if you ask people a question of ‘would you do a keg stand in front of your family,’ that may be the equivalent of rolling a joint and smoking it with your family as opposed to consuming it in a discrete way that doesn’t have to be lit.”

Rosenthal said as a wider variety of cannabis products becomes available, he anticipates an increase in the comfort level of Canadians consuming something once prohibited.

“Maybe it will never catch up with a beer with dinner, but I think that number will go up as people become more comfortable with it and realize you don’t have to smoke it.”